AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals breaks ground for a demonstration plant to showcase a more sustainable technology platform for producing ethylene amines and their derivatives from ethylene oxide. Located at its Stenungsund site in Sweden, the facility marks the next step towards commercialization of the patented technology, according to the company. In parallel to the construction, AkzoNobel has already started to explore options for a world-scale manufacturing facility.
The new technology will reduce raw material consumption and improve cost and environmental performance when compared with existing processes, according to the company. The flexibility of the technology will reportedly allow for a selective production of a wide range of end products, enabling the company to expand its amines product offering.
"The demonstration plant is an important step in further maturing the technology, aiming to prove that the technology meets performance expectations on an industrially relevant scale," says Hendrik van Dam, innovation project manager of AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals' Ethylene Amines business. "It will also produce significant quantities of final product for customer validation."
The range of ethylene amines targeted by the new technology platform includes diethylenetriamine (DETA) and triethylenetetramine (TETA), which are key building blocks in a number of growth applications such as epoxy curing, lube oil additives and oil field chemicals.
For more information, visit: www.akzonobel.com